proofonline.org » Perspectives http://www.proofonline.org/blog mental health blog Sun, 08 Aug 2010 19:53:04 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 en hourly 1 PostSecret Is Showing Our Cards http://www.proofonline.org/blog/2009/12/11/postsecret-is-showing-our-cards/ http://www.proofonline.org/blog/2009/12/11/postsecret-is-showing-our-cards/#comments Sat, 12 Dec 2009 05:47:26 +0000 Douglas Faneuil http://www.proofonline.org/blog/?p=282 I’ve been visiting PostSecret for years, and it’s still one of my favorite sites around. Few projects, online or off, suggest such a range of inner life so succinctly. Reading it each Sunday is a ritual of sorts, reminding me that in our weirdly unique differences we are all the same. It’s a little dose of humanity. It always makes me feel less alone.

In some ways, the site is a contradiction. Its mission seems particularly suited to the ethos of a blooming web culture – bringing together strangers to share secrets in an arbitrarily structured way that feels freeing and gives rise to a wealth of expression. From another angle, the whole thing seems oddly old-fashioned – decorating tiny canvasses using scissors and glue, submitting them for publication via snail-mail, and hoping your entry gets lovingly scanned by Frank Warren himself. It’s folk art for the internet age. And I love it.

giveup

]]> http://www.proofonline.org/blog/2009/12/11/postsecret-is-showing-our-cards/feed/ 0 The Clash of Civilizations, and Other Stories We Tell Ourselves http://www.proofonline.org/blog/2009/11/11/the-clash-of-civilizations-and-other-stories-we-tell-ourselves/ http://www.proofonline.org/blog/2009/11/11/the-clash-of-civilizations-and-other-stories-we-tell-ourselves/#comments Wed, 11 Nov 2009 20:06:30 +0000 Douglas Faneuil http://www.proofonline.org/blog/?p=224 Quote We’re all born late. We’re born into history that is well under way. We’re born into cultures, nations and languages that we didn’t choose. On top of that, we’re born with certain brain chemicals and genetic predispositions that we can’t control. We’re thrust into social conditions that we detest. Often, we react in ways we regret even while we’re doing them…

Among all the things we don’t control, we do have some control over our stories. We do have a conscious say in selecting the narrative we will use to make sense of the world. Individual responsibility is contained in the act of selecting and constantly revising the master narrative we tell about ourselves.

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[Wow – a nice follow-up to yesterday's post. I'm not a fan of Brooks generally, but I love his opener here. In my mind, this is what therapy is all about: re-shaping the stories we tell ourselves about ourselves, in an attempt to change our outlook. -Ed.]

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